Ben Douglas v. Lynn, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20201945)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 19, 2020 SPR20/1945 Charles Gallo Compliance Officer / Records Access Officer (RAO) Lynn Public Schools City of Lynn 100 Bennett Street Lynn, MA 01905 Dear Mr. Gallo: I have received your petition on behalf of the Lynn Public Schools (School) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records, as well as any other appropriate relief. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the School furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). Specifically, on October 5, 2020, Mr. Douglas requested two categories of records regarding a named employee, including documents related to said employee’s job description, as well as salary information. Subsequent to the opening of this petition, Mr. Douglas submitted a response to this office on October 11, 2020 addressing the School’s petition. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Charles Gallo SPR20/1945 Page 2 October 19, 2020 (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. - The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Request for relief from obligation to produce responsive records In its October 9, 2020 petition, the School “…respectfully requests that the Supervisor of Records relieve LPS of its obligation to provide copies of records sought by the Requestor …” The School indicates “[t]he Lynn Public Schools District (LPS) has received at least twenty-five (25) requests from June 18, 2020, through the date of this Petition…” believed to be from Mr. Douglas using various aliases. The School provides evidence of this belief by including a screen shot of an email from October 5, 2020, which is sent from “Juan Jefferson,” but signed by “Ben.” The School contends “[t]he Requestor’s requests appear frivolous and designed to intimidate and harass within the meanings of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66 Section 10(c) and 950 CMR 32.06(4). Additionally, the requests appear not to be intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity within the meaning of the statute.” In support of this position, the School lists the following: “a. The Requestor has been dishonest with the Supervisor of Records and LPS as to his identity. b. The Requestor has been dishonest with the Supervisor of Records and LPS as to the purpose of his requests. c. In an effort to intimidate and harass LPS, the Requestor duplicates requests. d. In another effort to intimidate and harass LPS, the Requestor requests information and documentation that has already been provided to him by LPS. e. In an effort to intimidate and harass individuals who may be involved in personnel matters, the Requestor requested salary and other information about certain supervisory staff. f. In an effort to intimidate and harass LPS’s RAO, the Requestor has filed frivolous

Charles Gallo SPR20/1945 Page 3 October 19, 2020 appeals with the Supervisor of Records. g. In another effort to intimidate and harass LPS’s RAO, the Requestor requested salary and other information about the RAO. h. In yet another effort to intimidate and harass LPS’s RAO, the Requestor presents lengthy and complicated requests, corresponds argumentatively and inappropriately with the RAO, asks questions of the RAO, and requests that the RAO do research in response to questions.” Based on the information provided in its October 9th correspondence, I find that the School has not established how these requests, which relate to job description and salary information of a public employee, are “not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity,” as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Extension of time to produce responsive records In its petition, the School indicates “LPS lacks the capacity to produce any records responsive to the current request without a significant extension of time” The School explains “[t]he current request will necessitate involvement of LPS’s IT Department and computer staff, thus impeding their focus on the new remote learning environment, including managing laptops for about 16,000 students, devices for several thousand staff, a brand new remote learning management system, and a work from home option for teachers and administrators.” The School further indicates “[r]esponding to the Requestor unduly burdens the responsibilities of LPS at the present time, namely, the responsibility to educate children remotely in the midst of the pandemic, the need to assist students’ families in the new remote learning environment, and the need to support educational and non-educational staff under the current unprecedented workplace circumstances. These burdens are exacerbated because the Requestor’s requests are frequent and unaccumulated.” I find that in light of the efforts undertaken by the School in fulfilling the previous requests, as well as the capacity of the School to produce the records without an extension, the School has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(ii). I hereby grant the School an extension of 15 business days beyond the time allowed in G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (a municipality may provide a timeframe not to exceed 25 business days to produce responsive records).

Charles Gallo SPR20/1945 Page 4 October 19, 2020 Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, in light of the School’s petition, I find the School has established good cause for a time extension of 15 business days as described above. Please note the requestor has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ben Douglas